The single personnel ledger (SPR): conditions and sanctions

The law of July 25, 1985 and the decree of March 13, 1986 instituted the single personnel ledger. It replaces the various ledgers that the employer was previously obliged to set up (ledgers of young people under 18 years of age, ledgers of staff entries and exits, etc.). This ledger makes it possible to list all the information relating to employees. 

According to article L.1221-13 of the French Labor Code, keeping a personnel ledger is mandatory in all companies where employees are employed. 

 1. The requirements related to the single personnel ledger  

According to article D. 1221-23 of the French Labor Code, the personnel ledger must include certain information:  

• Name;  
• First names;  
• Gender; 
• Nationality;
• Employment;
• Qualification;
• Date of birth of the employee hired ;  
• As well as the dates of his entry and exit in the institution; 
• When authorization for hiring or firing is required, the date of such authorization or, if not available, the date of the request for authorization; 
• For foreign workers subject to possession of a title authorizing the exercise of a salaried activity, the types and serial numbers of the title validating work authorization;
• For workers with a fixed-term employment contract, the words "fixed-term contract;
• For temporary employees, the words "temporary employee" as well as the name and address of the temporary employment agency;
• For workers made available by a group of employers, the words "made available by a group of employers" as well as the name and address of the latter;
• For part-time employees, the words "part-time employee;
• For young workers with an apprenticeship or professionalization contract, the words "apprentice" or "professionalization contract"; 
  

For the particular case of the trainees, their name and first names must be registered, in the order of arrival, in a specific part of the ledger.  

Article L.1221-13 of the French Labor Code requires that this information be written "in an indelible manner", which allows for greater protection of employees' personal data.  

The social and economic committee, the civil servants and the agents in charge of enforcing the Labor Code and the Social Security Code must be able to consult the single personnel ledger at any time.  

Finally, article L. 1221-14 of the French Labor Code provides that: "The keeping of the single personnel ledger may be waived to take into account the use of other means, in particular computerized means, under the conditions set forth in article L. 8113-6".
Therefore, it is possible for the employer to keep the ledger on a computer medium. However, it must ensure that the chosen medium offers the same guarantees of control as the paper medium.
When the processing of personal data is automated, it is up to the employer, in the event of an inspection by the labor inspector, to prove by producing receipts that he has taken the necessary steps with the Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés, except in cases of exemption. In addition, the mandatory information required by Article D. 1221-23 of the French Labor Code must also be included in the single electronic personnel ledger (Articles D. 8113-2 and D. 8113-3 of the French Labor Code). 

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2. The retention period

The ledger must be kept for five years from the date on which the employee or trainee leaves the company (according to article R. 1221-26 of the Labor Code)

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3. Possibility of keeping the RUP in digital format

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Legal references: article L. 1221-14 and article L. 8113-6 of the French Labor Code.

The RUP can be kept on a digital medium as long as it respects the same conditions as if it were in paper form, i.e. durable and indelible.
In this sense, it should be specified that the RUP cannot be modified later. Thus, in case of modification, it is sufficient to cross out the mention and not to delete it.

Therefore, whether the RUP is in paper or digital form, it is essential that the information be indelibly recorded, i.e. that it cannot be erased. In this sense, the digital document must be unalterable, and the information recorded on the RUP cannot be modified or deleted later.

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4. The single personnel ledger : sanctions  

Article R. 1227-7 of the French Labor Code provides that failure to comply with the provisions relating to the single personnel ledger (articles L. 1221-13, L. 1221-15 and L. 1221-15-1, D. 1221-23 to R. 1221-26) is punishable by a fourth class fine of 750€. 

The same article states that the fine "shall be applied as many times as there are persons employed under conditions liable to be sanctioned under the provisions of this article".

In other words, the fine of 750€ is applicable for each employee or trainee for whom a disregard of the provisions relating to the single personnel ledger is observed.

The law of March 11, 1997 has allowed the qualification of the offence of concealed work to evolve. Indeed, since its entry into force, the absence of a personnel ledger and/or the failure to ledger an employee in the ledger are no longer sufficient, on their own, to be considered as constituting the offence of concealed work. However, they can be used to characterize the intentional element of this offense. 

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⇢ To make it easier for you to draw up your RUP, we've provided a customizable template for the single personnel ledger, which you can download free of charge here.